When looking back at the greatest players in Chicago Bears history, it would be tough for anyone to pick just a few since the franchise has had so many great ones.
Well, current Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was put in that situation where he was chatting with Bleacher Report Gridiron and asked to name his all-time Bears Mount Rushmore. While Williams had four great players picked out, there was some controversy with what he said.
"I'm gonna go Matt (Forte), I'm gonna go (Jim) McMahon, Devin (Hester). It's either (Brian) Urlacher or (Mike) Singletary.
No Walter Payton in his Bears Mount Rushmore?
This is going to be one of those moments where, if Williams had a chance to redo it, he would go back in time and probably replace Forte with Payton. Looking at the numbers and impact on the franchise, Payton had far more success and impact than Forte, despite how great Forte was.
When Payton retired from the NFL, he was the all-time rushing leader with 16,726 yards and held that record for nearly two decades before Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith broke it. Payton was a nine-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-Pro, NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion, and a Hall of Famer.
It's nothing personal to Forte, as many Bears fans still love him after he earned two Pro Bowl selections in his career, but the resumes don't match. This is a clear case of Williams growing up watching Forte, so he probably connects with him better than Payton.
As for the other choices, those make sense. McMahon may not be the statistically best quarterback in Bears history, but he made a cultural impact on the NFL and on the Bears on the field. Hester is the greatest special teams returner in NFL history, holding the league records for total returns for touchdowns and punt returns for touchdowns.
Picking between Urlacher and Singletary could depend on which generation of Bears football fans watched. Singletary was a part of the historic 1985 Super Bowl-winning defense, so that's hard to argue against. Urlacher was a part of some great defenses too, and it could be argued that the Bears weren't as good in the 2000s and 2010s without him.
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Williams certainly caused a stir among Bears fans with his choices, but everyone can understand where he was coming from. Next time, always include Payton in every Bears all-time greatness list.
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